Teen involved in arson fire fatal to friend to be sentenced

Sentencing is scheduled for a western New York teenager who has pleaded guilty in connection with a tire recycling plant fire that killed his friend soon after the victim made a desperate cellphone call for help.

The 14-year-old boy is scheduled to be sentenced 10 a.m. Tuesday in Niagara County Family Court in Lockport, where the fire last August killed Joseph Phillips, also 14.

Authorities say the two Lockport teens set fires in a vacant building at High Tread International that soon spread throughout the complex. The fire forced hundreds of residents from their homes.

Phillips got trapped inside. Before he died he called his friend and left a voice mail pleading for help. The surviving teen’s phone had video of them setting fires.